nothing like diving in, eh? lol
you guys are brave!
you guys are brave!
1979 Decathlon CS rehab
- Thread starter Joe
- Start date
Joe
Well-known member
El Paso Texas. Humidity is never a problem here, unless you think about spraying dope, then the storms come in and the whole town floods.
Joe
Well-known member
In my case I am not sure that brave is the first word that comes to mind. I keep saying my goal is to invest the minimum in time and money to produce a solid airworthy plane. But it's an airplane, so I might as well amend that goal to read solid, airworthy, pretty airplane with lots of cool expensive stuff in the panel. I was hoping to get away without stripping the fuselage but the white on the sides was in pretty bad shape and top coated with an unknown paint that was not dope. In my defense I did not start ripping the fabric off the plane.....yet.
Bob Turner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2018
- Messages
- 4,089
I really don’t think 12 yards of fabric and some tapes will break the bank. It will cut your labor in half. Resist the temptation to make all the woodwork look brand new; just brush a coat of urethane varnish over whatever you see.
Rusty tubes? Take care of them before covering.
Rusty tubes? Take care of them before covering.
I thought hard about recovering. The issue was not so much money as time. Everyone I talked to said a DIY covering and restoration project would take at least a year and cost a lot more than I thought it would. Also, several guys told me they ripped the fabric off, other life events interrupted, and the plane never flew again.
I had a flying airplane and wanted to fly, not build. Stripping and repainting was kind of an accident, but it made sense for my particular situation. I had a short lull at work and was able to power through in about a month, working on weekends and nights. If it had taken longer than it did, I would probably have failed and would still be staring at an AOG project.
Your case might be different. With the plane broken down for trailering, you are already part way down the path to a recover. If you can dedicate the time, eg you are retired, it might be worth the effort to go ahead and rip the fabric off.
Have you gotten a quote from Corey Boozer at Classic Aircraft LLC? He is near Greenville MS, an easy day's drive from Houston. I got a very reasonable quote from him to recover and paint my fuselage and tail surfaces. Under $10K, which included replacing formers, stringers, cables, etc. And that was going from flying aircraft to flying again. If you can do the disassembly and reassembly and just need him to do the covering and painting, it should be even cheaper.
Bob Turner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2018
- Messages
- 4,089
Reason I suggested new fabric - if all you are doing is replacing fabric, it takes a day or so Tapes another leisurely day, along with a couple brush coats.
Then, you are right where you are now, only with much cleaner and smoother surfaces to spraypaint.
Then, you are right where you are now, only with much cleaner and smoother surfaces to spraypaint.
I am trying to be ready for fuselage/tail fabric by the end of October. If you guys are interested I can do a step by step thread showing how it goes. it shouldn't be too hard once I have a plan ready.
I'm currently putting a thread together on doing the headliner.
I'm currently putting a thread together on doing the headliner.
Joe
Well-known member
I've got 10 or 15 hours a week I can put into the project. I know a few guys with projects that never made it back together and that definitely concerns me. Of what is accessible to inspect the fabric, wood and tubing are in great shape. My hopes are to seal out the sun and see if that carries me through to retirement age. In reality I could afford to farm the work out but I'm one of those weird guys that enjoys working on planes as much as flying them.
Bob I absolutely agree, but I know myself and I will manage to turn that into a six month project of turning it into a new airframe.
Joe
Well-known member
Joe
Well-known member
I'm treating the lower half of the fuselage as one really big patch. Once I have it all built back up I plan to top coat the whole fuselage. Finished spraying clear this evening. Starting with silver tomorrow.
Joe
Well-known member
I had finally accepted that around the airport my plane has earned the nicknamed Patches. But now that the idea has been floated of changing the name to Lumpy, I have to draw a line in the sand. I am developing a love hate relationship with Rand-o-fill, but I finally might be ready for color. Sundays forecast 71 degrees.
Attachments
Bob Turner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2018
- Messages
- 4,089
Did I mention I have a soft spot for Fabens? Warped a valve seat there one evening in the early 1970s, and a nice family living on the airport helped me grind the seat, fed me dinner, put me up for the evening, and endured my horriblr guitar playing. I will never forget that evening.
Joe
Well-known member
Still that kind of place. We have no shortage of horrible guitar players so it is always a treat to hear a different horrible guitar player.
As a horrible guitar player myself, it's always nice to hear there's a place where we're welcome.
Joe
Well-known member
Hiperbiper
Well-known member
Looks great!
Keep up the good work and keep posting pics! It's great motivation for the rest of us!
Last edited:
Are you thinking about painting the boot cowl? Mine is in similar condition. I am thinking about pulling it off to reseal the windshield fairing this winter. Trying to decide whether to repaint it while it is off, and if so, whether to use enamel or the more pricey Randolph Mark II, which I think is a 2 part catalyzed enamel.
I assume you are using Randoph dope on the fuselage? IMO, dope gets a bad rap. Yeah, it is not as durable as PU, but it is easy to use and relatively safe from a health perspective. Really easy to blend repairs into previous coats.
I assume you are using Randoph dope on the fuselage? IMO, dope gets a bad rap. Yeah, it is not as durable as PU, but it is easy to use and relatively safe from a health perspective. Really easy to blend repairs into previous coats.